Nottingham Forest take on Aston Villa in a crucial Premier League clash at the City Ground this afternoon
12:49, 12 Apr 2026Updated 12:51, 12 Apr 2026
Nottingham Forest head coach Vitor Pereira
View Image
Nottingham Forest head coach Vitor Pereira(Image: Getty)
Head coach Vitor Pereira has named his Nottingham Forest team to face Aston Villa in today's crunch Premier League clash.
With seven games to go, the Reds'position in the top flight table remains a precarious one. They are above the dreaded dotted line, as things stand, but it is incredibly tight in the battle to avoid relegation.
West Ham United moved level on points with Forest courtesy of their victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers on Friday. Tottenham Hotspur are two points behind the two clubs while Leeds United are on point ahead.
JOIN US ON FACEBOOK! Get all the Nottingham Forest latest via our Facebook page
The Reds returned to action after the international break with a 1-1 draw away to Porto on Thursday night. That stalemate in Portugal leaves them in with a chance of making the semi-finals of the Europa League, with the return fixture taking place Trentside next week.
Indeed, Forest have a run of three successive home games - starting this afternoon - which could determine how the season pans out. After hosting Villa and Porto, Burnley will visit the City Ground next weekend in another huge match at the bottom end of the table.
Balancing the two competitions continues to be a challenge for Pereira. He rested several key men in midweek and utilised a number of fringe players at the Estadio do Dragao.
WORLD CUP LEGENDS: The stars who lit up football’s greatest tournament - Buy the Special Edition today
The Reds boss has made nine changes to his starting XI from Thursday night. Murillo and Morgan Gibbs-White are the only players to keep their places in the line-up.
Murillo will partner Nikola Milenkovic in the centre of the defence. Ola Aina and Neco Williams will make up the back four ahead of goalkeeper Matz Sels.
Ibrahim Sangare and Elliot Anderson will make up the midfield. Omari Hutchinson and Callum Hudson-Odoi will join Gibbs-White in providing attacking support for front man Igor Jesus.
Striker Chris Wood made his comeback after six months on the sidelines with a knee injury in midweek. He is on the bench this time, along with Stefan Ortega, Morato, Dan Ndoye, Nicolas Dominguez, Ryan Yates, James McAtee, Luca Netz and Dilane Bakwa.
Forest: Sels; Aina, Milenkovic, Murillo, Williams; Sangare, Anderson; Hutchinson, Gibbs-White, Hudson-Odoi; Jesus. Subs: Ortega, Morato, Wood, Ndoye, Dominguez, Yates, McAtee, Netz, Bakwa.
Article continues below
What do you make of the Forest line-up? Click HERE to have your say